Erie Explosion
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| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| League |
AIFA (2007–2010) SIFL (2011) UIFL (2012) CIFL (2013–2014) PIFL (2015) |
| Division | Northern (2007) North (2008–2009) Eastern (2010) Northeast (2011) North (2014) |
| Team history | Pittsburgh RiverRats (2007) Erie RiverRats (2008–2009) Erie Storm (2010) Erie Explosion (2011–present) |
| Based in |
Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania (2007) Erie, Pennsylvania (2008–present) |
| Arena |
Rostraver Ice Garden (2007) Erie Insurance Arena (2008–present) |
| Colors | Black, orange, white |
| Owner(s) | Bill Stafford |
| Head coach | Shawn Liotta |
| Championships | (2) CIFL: 2013, 2014 |
| Conference titles | (0) |
| Division titles | (2) UIFL: 2011 CIFL: 2013 |
| Playoff berths | (7) AIFA: 2007, 2008, 2010 SIFL: 2011 UIFL: 2012 CIFL: 2013, 2014 |
| Dancers | ERIEsistables |
| Website | ErieExplosion.com |
The Erie Explosion is a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion have played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the Southern Indoor Football League, the Continental Indoor Football League and the American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015.
The Explosion began play in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania.
The RiverRats played their first game at Tupelo, Mississippi on February 3, 2007, losing 54-34 to the Mississippi Mudcats. Their first home game was on February 18, 2007 which they lost 35-28 to the Reading Express. Pittsburgh won its first home game on March 4, 2007, defeating the Danville Demolition 47-21. On May 19, 2007, the RiverRats set an AIFA single-game record when they scored 86 points.
On January 8, 2008 the RiverRats announced they would be relocating to Erie in time for the 2008 season, rebranding themselves as the Erie RiverRats. They replaced the city's previous AIFA team, the Erie Freeze.
In August, 2008, Liotta resigned as coach of the RiverRats and left to coach the Wheeling Wildcats. In September 2008, the RiverRats named Steven G. Folmar as the franchise's second head coach. In December 2008, owner Jeff Hauser sold the team to a group of local businessmen, headed by Jeff Plyler, Bob Foltyn and Frank Herman. The RiverRats had to replace many players on the roster, as most of the 2008 roster followed Liotta to Wheeling. As a result of all the changes, the RiverRats struggled all season to score points, resulting in offensive coordinator Paul Pennington's resignation after an 0–3 start. After dropping to 0–7, the RiverRats got their first win of the season on a last second field goal by Joe Lindway. The RiverRats ended up finishing with a 3-11 record, and missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
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